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Rock of the Westies

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1975 studio album by Elton John
Rock of the Westies
Studio album by
Released24 October 1975
Studio
GenreRock[1]
Length43:39
Label
ProducerGus Dudgeon
Elton John chronology
Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy
(1975)		Rock of the Westies
(1975)		Here and There
(1976)
Singles from Rock of the Westies
  1. "Island Girl"
    Released: 29 September 1975
  2. "Grow Some Funk of Your Own" / "I Feel Like a Bullet (in the Gun of Robert Ford)"
    Released: 12 January 1976

Rock of the Westies is the tenth studio album by British musicianElton John. It was released on 24 October 1975, throughDJM Records in the UK andMCA Records in the US. Produced byGus Dudgeon, the record was recorded in mid-1975 atCaribou Ranch inNederland, Colorado, and contained a new lineup of theElton John Band.

Released less than five months afterCaptain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy,Rock of the Westies repeated that album's then-unprecedented feat of entering the USBillboard 200 chart at number one. It was also successful in the UK, where it reached number 5. The album's lead single, "Island Girl", topped theBillboard Hot 100 and reached the top 20 in multiple other territories. However, sales of the album tapered quickly, and both contemporary and retrospective reviews have been mixed.

Background

[edit]

For the recording ofRock of the Westies, John dismissed drummerNigel Olsson and bassistDee Murray from his band, reportedly desiring a change in sound from his previous album,Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy.[2] GuitaristDavey Johnstone and percussionistRay Cooper remained from the previous lineup, with the addition of drummer Roger Pope (a session musician onEmpty Sky) and bassistKenny Passarelli.[3] John also added his friendCaleb Quaye as a guitarist andJames Newton Howard on synthesizers.[3] The album was produced byGus Dudgeon.

The title is a play on the phrase "West of the Rockies", a nod to theCaribou Ranch studio inNederland, Colorado.[4] Upon its release,Rock of the Westies became the second consecutive Elton John album to debut at the top of theBillboard 200, followingCaptain Fantastic (the first ever album to debut at #1).[4][5] It was the last in a string of six straight US #1 studio albums, starting in 1972 withHonky Chateau. Amongst other guests, funk-rock groupLabelle[4] and pop singerKiki Dee provide backing vocals.

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarHalf star[1]
Christgau's Record GuideA−[6]
The Encyclopedia of Popular MusicStarStarStarStar[7]

In a review forRolling Stone,Stephen Holden stated the songs "barely accomplish their objective of providing the latest in synthetic boogie", while opining that the new lineup resulted in only "superficial" changes to John's sound. Holden also criticized the lyrics of "Island Girl" as being bothsexist andracist, while declaring "Feed Me" to be the album's only lyrics to be "more than a glib, slapdash effort".[8]

Conversely,Robert Christgau praised the album, finding it to have Taupin's best lyrics, while stating that the arrangements of "Island Girl" and "Grow Some Funk of Your Own" "elaborate the songs' racial ironies" and praising the band's "fiery temper" on "Street Kids" and "Hard Luck Story".[6]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written byElton John andBernie Taupin, except where noted. "Ann Orson/Carte Blanche" is a pseudonym used by John and Taupin[citation needed].

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Medley (Yell Help – Wednesday Night – Ugly)"
6:15
2."Dan Dare (Pilot of the Future)" 3:29
3."Island Girl" 3:42
4."Grow Some Funk of Your Own"
  • John
  • Taupin
  • Johnstone
4:47
5."I Feel Like a Bullet (in the Gun of Robert Ford)" 5:27
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Street Kids" 6:25
2."Hard Luck Story"Ann Orson/Carte Blanche5:16
3."Feed Me" 4:00
4."Billy Bones and the White Bird" 4:25
Total length:43:39
Bonus tracks(1995 Mercury reissue)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
10."Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (featuringKiki Dee)Ann Orson/Carte Blanche4:30
Total length:49:00
Bonus tracks(1996 Rocket reissue)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
10."Planes" 4:31
11."Sugar on the Floor"Kiki Dee4:31
Total length:52:41

Personnel

[edit]
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Track numbers refer to CD and digital releases of the album.

Musicians

[edit]

Production

[edit]
  • Gus Dudgeon – producer
  • Jeff Guercio – engineer
  • Mark Guercio – assistant engineer
  • Gus Dudgeon, Phil Dunne, Nick Bradford - mixing
  • Arun Chakraverty – mastering
  • John Tobler – liner notes
  • Terry O'Neill – album cover photograph
  • David Larkham – art direction and design

Charts

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Weekly charts

[edit]
Chart (1975–1976)Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[9]4
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[10]1
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[11]3
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[12]25
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[13]33
Italian Albums (Musica e Dischi)[14]16
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[15]47
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[16]4
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[17]6
Spanish Albums (AFYVE)[18]8
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[19]6
UK Albums (OCC)[20]5
USBillboard 200[21]1

Year-end charts

[edit]
Chart (1975)Position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report[9]37
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[22]11
Chart (1976)Position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report[9]52
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[23]31
USBillboard Year-End[24]37

Certifications

[edit]
RegionCertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[25]Platinum50,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[26]Platinum100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[27]Gold7,500‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[28]Gold100,000^
United States (RIAA)[29]Platinum1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]

Citations

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  1. ^ab"Rock of the Westies – Elton John | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
  2. ^Gilles, Fran (30 May 2023)."Nigel Olsson talks exclusively to George Matlock from California, 13 November 1999".Elton John World. Retrieved27 September 2025.
  3. ^abParkinson 2003, p. 87.
  4. ^abc"10 Fun Facts About 'Rock of the Westies' and 'The Big Picture'".EltonJohn.com. 25 August 2017. Retrieved27 September 2025.
  5. ^"Elton Expands 'Captain Fantastic' With Live Tracks".Billboard. 4 August 2005. Retrieved27 September 2025.
  6. ^abChristgau, Robert (1981)."Consumer Guide '70s: J".Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies.Ticknor & Fields.ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved27 February 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  7. ^Larkin, Colin (2011). "John, Elton".The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). London: Omnibus Press. p. 2,003.ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  8. ^Holden, Stephen (18 December 1975)."Rock of the Westies".Rolling Stone. Retrieved27 September 2025.
  9. ^abcKent, David (1993).Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book.ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  10. ^"Top RPM Albums: Issue 4050a".RPM.Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  11. ^"danskehitlister.dk". Archived fromthe original on 8 April 2016.
  12. ^Pennanen, Timo (2006).Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava.ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  13. ^"Offiziellecharts.de – Elton John – Rock of the Westies" (in German).GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  14. ^"Classifiche".Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved25 March 2024. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Elton John".
  15. ^Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo:Oricon Entertainment. 2006.ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  16. ^"Charts.nz – Elton John – Rock of the Westies". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  17. ^"Norwegiancharts.com – Elton John – Rock of the Westies". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  18. ^Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005).Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE.ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  19. ^"Swedishcharts.com – Elton John – Rock of the Westies". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  20. ^"Official Albums Chart Top 100".Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  21. ^"Elton John Chart History (Billboard 200)".Billboard. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  22. ^"Top RPM Albums: Issue 6489a".RPM.Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  23. ^"Top RPM Albums: Issue 5175".RPM.Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  24. ^"Top Pop Albums of 1976".Billboard. Archived fromthe original on 31 December 2012. Retrieved24 February 2012.
  25. ^"Elton John Australian Award". 20 February 2023.
  26. ^"Canadian album certifications – Elton John – Rock of the Westies".Music Canada.
  27. ^"New Zealand album certifications – Elton John – Rock of the Westies". Radioscope. Retrieved12 January 2025.TypeRock of the Westies in the "Search:" fieldand press Enter.
  28. ^"British album certifications – Elton John – Rock of the Westies".British Phonographic Industry.
  29. ^"American album certifications – Elton John – Rock of the Westies".Recording Industry Association of America.

Sources

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External links

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